How to Do the Kibbe Personal Line Sketch for Soft Dramatics

Information here comes from David Kibbe's book The Power of Style. The book introduces the updated way of finding your Image Identity, which now includes the Personal Line.

The Image Identity Formula

Image Identity is the updated version of Kibbe Type, and it is built from two components: Yin/Yang Balance and Personal Line. Your Yin/Yang Balance describes your physical body and where you fall on a scale between sharp yang and soft yin. Your Personal Line, on the other hand, acts as a blueprint for your clothes, telling you what your silhouette needs to do to look its best. When you combine these two pieces of information, you arrive at one of ten possible Image Identities.

What Is Personal Line

Your Personal Line is a continuous outline that captures how your body's proportions relate to one another. Because it isn't something you can simply spot in the mirror, you have to work it out by looking at your shape as a whole rather than focusing on any single feature.

Every Personal Line is made of a Dominant and an Additional trait. There are two possible Dominants—Vertical and Curve—and six possible Additionals: Curve, Width, Narrow, Balance, Double Curve, and Petite. Note that Vertical only ever appears as a Dominant, never an Additional. Once these two parts are paired, you have a Personal Line that your clothing silhouette is then designed to match.

The Five Archetypes on the Yin/Yang Scale

The yin/yang scale is marked by five archetypes that serve as reference points for every Image Identity.

• Dramatic represents the extreme yang end of the scale, characterized as sharp, narrow, and elongated.

• Romantic sits at the extreme yin end, defined by a soft, lush, and curvaceous frame.

• Classic holds the middle of the scale, remaining perfectly balanced between the two extremes.

• Natural is also yang, but its frame is blunt rather than sharp.

• Gamine is a unique mix of opposites, featuring a small yin size with a sharp yang frame.

These positions provide the framework for describing how every individual's balance is structured.

The Fabric-Draping Method

To identify your Personal Line, you use a method involving imaginary fabric. Picture a length of silk chiffon, weighted at the bottom, hanging from your shoulders. You are watching to see how that fabric behaves as it falls: it will either run in a straight line down your body or be pushed outward by your bust and hips.

A straight fall from the shoulder all the way to the floor indicates a Vertical Dominant. If the fabric is pushed out at the bust, drawn in at the waist, and pushed out again at the hips, your Dominant is Curve. This fabric is not meant to trace your body or be held tight against it; instead, it skims and floats down from the shoulder to reveal your Dominant trait.

How to Do the Sketch

The sketch is the practical way to identify your Personal Line by drawing it directly onto a photo of yourself. You should use a full-length, front-facing photo taken in close-fitting clothes while standing in a relaxed pose. For the best accuracy, position the camera about ten feet away at chest height and avoid using a mirror.

Starting at the edge of the shoulder, trace the path the imaginary fabric takes as it falls. If the line drops in a straight, unbroken vertical, your Dominant is Vertical, but if it is pushed out by the bust and hips, your Dominant is Curve. It is important to trust only what the sketch shows you rather than trying to look back at your body.

Height is also a factor: if you are 5'6" or taller, your Dominant is automatically Vertical. Under that height, both Vertical and Curve are possible. Once the Dominant is set, you sketch the Additional trait on top of it. Together, these two parts form your Personal Line, which your silhouette is then built to follow.

The Soft Dramatic Image Identity

Soft Dramatic is a Yang-dominant identity with a pronounced yin undercurrent. Its Personal Line is defined as Vertical plus Curve. While any height is possible, most Soft Dramatics are often 5'6" or over. The resulting silhouette has a strong vertical line that runs long and unbroken, but it is softened by a curved or draped quality. The eye travels straight down the vertical line, but it also catches the curve or drape, particularly through the upper body.

In the drape method, the imaginary fabric falls straight from the shoulder but features a cut-in at the midsection where the Curve Additional sits. This reflects the Dominant trait of Vertical—the long downward line—and the secondary trait of Curve, which adds that elliptical shape to the middle of the outline.

Reading Vertical Dominance in the Sketch

Now this is my personal philosophy coming into play so hear me out: the Vertical sketch has one specific area that holds most of the answer. By watching how the line leaves the shoulder dot, you can see the differences between the five Vertical Image Identities:

• Dramatic: The line narrows inward immediately after leaving the shoulder and then drops straight down.

• Soft Dramatic: The line drops off the shoulder and curves around the bustline.

• Flamboyant Natural: The line moves outward from the shoulder, creating enough width that any bust curve sits inside it before the line drops down.

• Dramatic Classic: The line stays neutral as it leaves the shoulder, showing no narrowing, widening, or curve.

• Flamboyant Gamine: The line is brief as it leaves the shoulder before dropping down, reflecting a compact frame.

The Soft Dramatic Sketch

A Soft Dramatic sketch is read primarily in two areas: the line coming off the shoulder and the waist. The line moves outward from the shoulder as the bust and hips push the fabric out, while the waist cuts in between them. Together, these movements trace an elongated almost "S" shape down the body.

The waist is a highlighted area in this sketch, acting as the defined cut-in between the bust and hip. It is worth noting that a Soft Dramatic sketch doesn't always have to look dramatically curved; the "S" can be subtle, and the outward push of the bust and hips can be modest. As long as those elements are present, even in a gentle way, the sketch reads as Soft Dramatic.

The Seamstress Lens

You can also visualize the Soft Dramatic line through the hands of a seamstress. To accommodate the bust, she would pull the shoulder line outward slightly. At the waist, she would pull the fabric tight while keeping her hands moving downward to maintain the elongated quality. Finally, a light pull at the hips would allow the fabric to travel around them on its way to the floor.

For more on this perspective, see A Seamstress Walks Into a Bar.

Other Ways to Discover Your Kibbe Type

The fabric drape and sketch method is David Kibbe's current approach, but there are other paths to finding your type. The original method was the quiz, which used questions about bone structure, flesh, and facial features. This was followed by asking online communities for feedback. I then built a photo analysis tool, which uses computer vision to read proportions from a photo.

I later updated to the current sketch approach by adding 3D body mapping, sketch output, and virtual try-ons to show how different clothes look on your frame. Try it out!